Kicked, Bitten & Scratched

I was about to type that no, that's not how I spent my weekend, but looking back, that's not entirely true. Kaylee and Indy have both kicked me. Spike bit me, and Kaylee scratched me. You'll note that Cordy's the good girl. :)

In any case, I read Kicked, Bitten & Scratched by Amy Sutherland this weekend, and it's a book I'd recommend getting from the library if you're interested in animals, operant conditioning, or both. It's a fascinating look at an exotic animal training program, written by a journalist who spent a year at the school.

Since I've clicker-trained the dogs, I've been interested in animal training. We're not terribly consistant around here, but at least the dogs all sit before they go out, and Kaylee now knows three - count 'em three - commands (by contrast, Cordy probably knows upwards of twenty, and Indy knows at least ten. Kaylee can sit, down, and "circus dog," jump up and bop a hand with her nose.) And within a week, I've trained Jaques and Petrolina, the new goldfish, to come up to the top of the pond for breakfast and dinner. Little accomplishments. :)

But try out the book, even if you don't train animals. It's an interesting and fast read.

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